Small laminators for office use are well known in the Office Equipment Industry. Generally, the units are approximately the size of a typewriter, and include a housing design to sit on a countertop, desktop, or other horizontal surface. The laminators of the prior art are intended to remain in one place once installed, and are not designed for portability or storage if used infrequently.
The laminators are generally positioned horizontally, and include a faceplate which faces the user when the laminator is positioned for use. The faceplate includes a horizontal feed slot, where a user inserts the article to be laminated. Prior to insertion, the user places the article between two plastic films. Inside the feed slot is a conveying mechanism, usually a pair of rollers, which grab the article and convey the article into the heater. There, the heater subjects the films to heat from a heating plate or other heating element, thereby fusing the plastic films to one another about the perimeter of the article as the article passes by, resulting in a laminated article. The laminated article is then conveyed out the feed slot where it is retrieved by the user. In some embodiments in the prior art, the laminated article is conveyed through a separate output slot instead of going back through the feed slot. In other embodiments, well known in the prior art, the user need not place the article between the films, as the laminator includes mechanisms to place the article between two films.
Because the heating elements generate high temperatures to fuse the plastic films, the outside of the laminator housing, particularly the area in closest proximity to the heating elements can become hot to the touch. To limit the heating of the housing exposed to the user, the housing of the present invention includes an air gap or channel, to limit the conduction of heat from the heating elements to the outer housing of the laminator. The air gap is created by using two housings isolate the heating elements from the user.
Additionally, the laminators of the prior art are not designed for portability or ease of storage. The feed slots do not include a cover or other structure as part of the housing, thereby leaving the feed slot open to the environment when the laminator is not in use. This exposure allows dust and other debris to enter the feed slot, contaminating the films and mechanisms within the housing. Since the laminators of the prior art are not designed to be moved from place to place, they do not include a carrying handle or structure to store the power cord.